Methods and systems for providing a learning path for an electronic learning system

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing a learning path for an electronic learning system. The methods can include: retrieving learning objectives assigned to the learning path; for each learning objective, selecting resources assigned a relevance score satisfying a relevance threshold for that learning objective, the relevance score representing an estimated degree of correlation between that learning objective and the resource, and the relevance threshold indicating a minimum relevance score required for a resource to be selected; generating an initial learning path using the selected resources; identifying evaluation type resources which include an interaction for evaluating a proficiency of a user in relation to a subset of learning objectives; monitoring a feedback usage indicator for each evaluation type resource, the feedback usage indicator representing an amount of user interactions with that evaluation type resource; and updating the initial learning path to generate the learning path based on the feedback usage indicator.

We claim: 
     
       1. A computer-implemented method for providing a learning path for an electronic learning system, the electronic learning system including a computer server having a processor, a learning path component in electronic communication with the processor, an evaluation component in electronic communication with the processor, a resource mapping component in electronic communication with the processor and at least one data storage component in electronic communication with the learning path component, the evaluation component and the processor, the at least one data storage component storing one or more learning objectives, the method comprising:
 retrieving, by the learning path component of the server, from the one or more learning objectives, a set of learning objectives assigned to the learning path; 
 for each learning objective of the set of learning objectives, selecting, by the learning path component of the server, from a plurality of resources accessible to the electronic learning system, one or more resources assigned a relevance score by the resource mapping component, the one or more resources including content with content data and one or more resource property fields that define at least one characteristic of the resource, the resource mapping component sectioning the content data of each resource into content portions based on the one or more resource property fields, the relevance score at least satisfying a relevance threshold for that learning objective, the relevance score representing an estimated degree of correlation between that learning objective and each content portion of the respective resource, and the relevance threshold indicating a minimum relevance score required for a resource to be selected for a learning objective; 
 generating, by the learning path component of the server, an initial learning path using the selected one or more resources; 
 identifying, by the processor, one or more evaluation type resources from the selected one or more resources, each evaluation type resource comprising an interaction for evaluating a proficiency of a user in relation to at least a subset of learning objectives of the set of learning objectives; 
 determining, by the evaluation component, a competence level of the user in respect of at least one of the learning objectives of the subset of learning objectives; 
 monitoring, by the processor, a feedback usage indicator stored in a learning path database of the data storage component for each evaluation type resource of the selected one or more resources, the feedback usage indicator representing an amount of user interactions with that evaluation type resource, the feedback usage indicator increasing in value with each subsequent use of each evaluation type resource; and 
 updating, by the learning path component of the server, the initial learning path to generate the learning path in real-time based on, at least, the feedback usage indicator of each evaluation type resource of the selected one or more resources, the updating of the initial learning path by the learning path component of the server comprising:
 determining, by the learning path component of the server, a system learn value for a resource associated with the feedback usage indicator; 
 comparing the system learn value to a learn value threshold; 
 dynamically generating, by the evaluation component, at least one additional evaluation type resource based on the determined competence level of the user in respect of the at least one of the learning objectives of the subset of learning objectives, the dynamically generated additional evaluation type resource being customized for the user based on prior interactions of the user with the initial learning path; and 
 determining to update the initial learning path based on the comparison of the system learn value to the learn value threshold, wherein the system learn value is a numerical value corresponding to a probability that a corresponding resource will assist the user in achieving a corresponding learning objective. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein updating, by the learning path component of the server, the initial learning path to generate the learning path comprises:
 for each evaluation type resource, determining, by the learning path component of the server, whether the feedback usage indicator at least satisfies an initial usage threshold; and 
 in response to determining the feedback usage indicator at least satisfies the initial usage threshold, generating the learning path based on (i) the relevance score assigned to each resource of the one or more resources and (ii) a system learn value assigned to each resource selected for the subset of learning objectives associated with that evaluation type resource, otherwise, providing the initial learning path as the learning path; 
 wherein the system learn value is assigned to each resource selected for the subset of learning objectives after at least one user completes the respective evaluation type resource. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein generating the learning path based on the relevance score assigned to each resource and the system learn value assigned to each resource comprises:
 applying a first weight to the relevance score and a second weight to the system learn value; and 
 generating a combined score based on the weighted relevance score and the weighted system learn value. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 2 , wherein, in response to determining the feedback usage indicator exceeds the initial usage threshold, the method further comprises:
 for each evaluation type resource, determining whether the feedback usage indicator exceeds a subsequent usage threshold; and 
 in response to determining the feedback usage indicator at least satisfies the subsequent usage threshold, generating the learning path based on the assigned system learn values, otherwise, generating the learning path based on the relevance score assigned to each resource and the system learn value assigned to each resource. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the relevance score assigned to a resource is generated based on a semantic analysis of each learning objective of the one or more learning objectives and the semantic analysis of the content of each resource of the one or more resources. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 2 , wherein updating the initial learning path to generate the learning path comprises: rearranging an order in which the selected one or more resources is presented in the initial learning path. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein rearranging the order in which the selected one or more resources is presented in the initial learning path comprises:
 ordering at least some of the resources of the selected one or more resources according to the respective system learn values in a decreasing sequence. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 2 , wherein updating the initial learning path to generate the learning path comprises at least one of (i) removing at least one resource of the selected one or more resources from the initial learning path and (ii) adding a different resource to the initial learning path. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , wherein removing the at least one resource of the selected one or more resources from the initial learning path comprises:
 determining whether the system learn value assigned to the at least one resource is less than a learn value threshold, the learn value threshold corresponding to a minimum system learn value required for the at least one resource to be retained in the learning path; and 
 in response to determining the system learn value assigned to the at least one resource is less than the learn value threshold, removing the at least one resource from the initial learning path, otherwise, retaining the at least one resource in the learning path. 
 
     
     
       10. An electronic learning system including a computer server, the computer server comprising:
 a data storage component for storing one or more learning objectives; 
 a learning path component in electronic communication with the data storage component; 
 an evaluation component in electronic communication with the data storage component; 
 a resource mapping component in electronic communication with the processor and 
 a processor in electronic communication with the data storage component, the evaluation component and the learning path component, the learning path component, the evaluation component and the processor operating to: 
 retrieve, by the learning path component, from the one or more learning objectives, a set of learning objectives assigned to the learning path; 
 for each learning objective of the set of learning objectives, select, by the learning path component, from a plurality of resources accessible to the electronic learning system, one or more resources assigned a relevance score by the resource mapping component, the one or more resources including content with content data and one or more resource property fields that define at least one characteristic of the resource, the resource mapping component sectioning the content data of each resource into content portions based on the resource property fields, the relevance score at least satisfying a relevance threshold for that learning objective, the relevance score representing an estimated degree of correlation between that learning objective and each content portion of the respective resource, and the relevance threshold indicating a minimum relevance score required for a resource to be selected for a learning objective; 
 generate, by the learning path component, an initial learning path using the selected one or more resources; 
 identify, by the processor, one or more evaluation type resources from the selected one or more resources, each evaluation type resource comprises an interaction for evaluating a proficiency of a user in relation to at least a subset of learning objectives of the set of learning objectives; 
 determine, by the evaluation component, a competence level of the user in respect of at least one of the learning objectives of the subset of learning objectives; 
 monitor, by the processor, a feedback usage indicator stored in a learning path database of the data storage component for each evaluation type resource of the selected one or more resources, the feedback usage indicator representing an amount of user interactions with that evaluation type resource, the feedback usage indicator increasing in value with each subsequent use of each evaluation type resource; and 
 update, by the learning path component, the initial learning path to generate the learning path in real-time based on, at least, the feedback usage indicator of each evaluation type resource of the selected one or more resources, the updating the initial learning path by the learning path component of the server comprising:
 determining, by the learning path component of the server, a system learn value for a resource associated with the feedback usage indicator; 
 comparing the system learn value to a learn value threshold; 
 dynamically generating, by the evaluation component, at least one additional evaluation type resource based on the determined competence level of the user in respect of the at least one of the learning objectives of the subset of learning objectives, the dynamically generated additional evaluation type resource being customized for the user based on prior interactions of the user with the initial learning path; and 
 determining to update the initial learning path based on the comparison of the system learn value to the learn value threshold, wherein the system learn value is a numerical value corresponding to a probability that a resource will assist a user in achieving a corresponding learning objective. 
 
 
     
     
       11. The electronic learning system of  claim 10 , wherein the learning path component operates to:
 for each evaluation type resource, determine whether the feedback usage indicator at least satisfies an initial usage threshold; and 
 in response to determining the feedback usage indicator at least satisfies the initial usage threshold, generate the learning path based on (i) the relevance score assigned to each resource of the one or more resources and (ii) a system learn value assigned to each resource selected for the subset of learning objectives associated with that evaluation type resource, otherwise, provide the initial learning path as the learning path; 
 wherein the system learn value is assigned to each resource selected for the subset of learning objectives after at least one user completes the respective evaluation type resource. 
 
     
     
       12. The electronic learning system of  claim 11  wherein the learning path component operates to:
 apply a first weight to the relevance score and a second weight to the system learn value; and 
 generate a combined score based on the respective weighted relevance score and the weighted system learn value. 
 
     
     
       13. The electronic learning system of  claim 11 , wherein the learning path component operates to:
 for each evaluation type resource, determine whether the feedback usage indicator exceeds a subsequent usage threshold; and 
 in response to determining the feedback usage indicator at least satisfies the subsequent usage threshold, generate the learning path based on the assigned system learn values, otherwise, generate the learning path based on the relevance score assigned to each resource and the system learn value assigned to each resource. 
 
     
     
       14. The electronic learning system of  claim 10 , wherein the relevance score assigned to a resource is generated based on a semantic analysis of each learning objective of the one or more learning objectives and the semantic analysis of the content of each resource of the one or more resources. 
     
     
       15. The electronic learning system of  claim 11 , wherein the learning path component operates to rearrange an order in which the selected one or more resources is presented in the initial learning path. 
     
     
       16. The electronic learning system of  claim 15 , wherein the learning path component further operates to order at least some of the resources of the selected one or more resources according to the respective system learn values in a decreasing sequence. 
     
     
       17. The electronic learning system of  claim 11 , wherein the learning path component operates to update the initial learning path by performing at least one of (i) removing at least one resource of the selected one or more resources from the initial learning path and (ii) adding a different resource to the initial learning path. 
     
     
       18. The electronic learning system of  claim 17 , wherein the learning path component operates to:
 determine whether the system learn value assigned to the at least one resource is less than a learn value threshold, the learn value threshold corresponding to a minimum system learn value required for the at least one resource to be retained in the learning path; and 
 in response to determining the system learn value assigned to the at least one resource is less than the learn value threshold, remove the at least one resource from the initial learning path, otherwise, retain the at least one resource in the learning path.